Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $375.00 price objective on the CRM provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.20% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Salesforce from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Salesforce from $385.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $315.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised Salesforce from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $440.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Salesforce from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.86.

Salesforce Price Performance

NYSE CRM traded down $13.74 on Wednesday, hitting $337.23. The stock had a trading volume of 8,381,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,413,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Salesforce has a 52-week low of $212.00 and a 52-week high of $369.00. The company has a market capitalization of $322.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $321.11 and a 200-day moving average of $277.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Salesforce will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total transaction of $246,480.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian Millham sold 14,808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.95, for a total value of $5,019,171.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,298 shares of company stock valued at $39,903,781. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Salesforce

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS bought a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 28.0% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the CRM provider's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Salesforce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $463,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Salesforce during the third quarter valued at $15,894,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. bought a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter worth $821,000. 80.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.